I have mixed feelings about a teacher being president. The teachers then believe they can do what they want and run the parents down. Good luck people will be afraid to say anything against them, or will not vote against them.

We've had a mix in my 15 yrs

If bylaws define it as OK its OK - no group should exclude a stakeholder in their school from being a member (be it just member, board member, etc) Hence it would be an exclusive group NOT an inclusive group

Teachers, at home and working parents have the same time constraints, personal lives/problems, etc.

Time is not the problem - its what is their priority in being a member.

I've worked with people that have had 2-5 kids, 2 jobs plus a spouse and have done a bangup (ie phenominal) job as member, chairman and/ or board member

I've worked with people that have 1 job, no kids, no spouse and quite frankly stunk at being a member, chairman, and/ or board member

If you have check and balances in place, job descriptions, good bylaws, good communication, good leaders, good support system, good listening skills usually everything goes good but as life is a crap-shoot miriads of things could go wrong.

We must never assume that which is incapable of proof
~HG Lewes

we've had officers and even president be a teacher. as long as the entire board is not teachers i think it would be ok.

I believe that having a teacher on the board prevents open communication. We recently had elections and a teacher got vice pres. We met once to get to know each other and she took over every position. She sent us minutes on an unofficial meeting and is telling the treasurer that she wants to see all financial records. The president notified her of her position. The teacher sent the email which was very polite to the principle. The president received a nasty letter from the principle. We tried to explain to the teacher why she had offended all officer and she will now not talk to any board member without the principle present. Kindof hard to work together when they want nothing to do with the rest of the board.

I've posted on several threads relating to teachers in board positions. My general feeling is that it's perfectly OK. My last group's bylaws included staff and teachers in the member definition so they had as much right as the parents to run for officer positions.

If a teacher is also a parent of an enrolled child then they have a personal as well as a professional interest in the functioning of the group. They could very well bring a unique perspective that enhances the team.

As for their professional schedule being a burden, I would caution against using that as a reason. Any individual will have moments throughout the school year that may require more of their attention than the PTO - accountants at tax time, mom's with babies/toddlers, professionals who travel for work, etc. If they are capable officers and establish a strong support team then these few times of inattention throughout the year should not be an overall problem.

Not only could it be seen as a conflict of interest, I think it makes it a lot easier for other parents to work with that teacher when it comes to having their child in their classroom if they are in a board role. Being a board member sometimes puts a bullseye on your back for comments, scrutiny and criticism. Why would a teacher want the respect of parents when they are your son or daughter's teacher, but then be willing to wear the bullseye?
Some roles may be easier for a teacher to hold, but President, VP or Treasurer have a huge responsibility and demands a ton of time. I would worry about their ability to juggle it all especially during mandatory testing times, the summer months, etc.

Have them be a chairperson first or secretary first and then see how it goes.